


Ascent

by FireEye



Category: Final Fantasy IV
Genre: Gen, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-29
Updated: 2011-10-29
Packaged: 2017-10-25 01:24:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/270142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireEye/pseuds/FireEye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, a far-traveled mage took a stroll up a desolate hill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ascent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stealth_Noodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stealth_Noodle/gifts).



> Prompt: Nothing grows on the mountain anymore. For generations, children have been warned not to venture near it after dark, lest the Blighted Despot turn them into his undead slaves.

From a distance, the hill appeared benign, if out of place.  Rising alone from the grassy plain, the ground climbed gradually upward towards a sunken crown.  Where would be the peak of a mountain was a basin of decayed earth, encircling a burial mound that had been enveloped by the bog, ages ago.

From a distance, the man in mages’ robes stood deathly still.  He could see himself, set against the sun rising at his back.  The peasant child at his side fidgeted, uneasy even in the dawn’s light.  The mage blinked; returning to himself.  He had forgotten about the boy.

“I can find my way from here,” the man said, a thin smile upon his lips. 

Without a word, the boy bolted, running back towards the village.  Even in daylight, the villagers would not approach the hill – even among the young and the reckless, it had taken gold to find a willing guide.  The mage wheezed, cackling at the foolish fears of backwater peasantry.

 

Halfway up the slope, he stopped, seating himself upon bare rock.  Once, forest had enveloped this place as far as the eye could see... or scry.  Now, it hid the village on the horizon, the land between was covered with clumps of tenacious grass.  Propped against the stone, the mage chewed thoughtfully on a dry strip of jerky.  At his feet, a nub of sunbleached bone stuck from the earth; he nudged it curiously with toe, and, when that failed to provoke a reaction, reached to pry it loose.

“Why, hello to you,” the man said, pouring the dirt from the skull before meeting its empty gaze.  “Been here long?”

It was no surprise, the skull didn’t answer.

 

At the crest of the basin, the earth caved into a sopping mire, filled with mould and quicksand.  A few dead, skeletal trees clawed free of the water, covered in slime.  It took the remainder of the day to hazard the treacherous ground; more than once, his staff sank deep, and he had to retrace his path to find a safer way.

By the time he had reached the central mound, both moons had risen.  Both deliciously full, the silver moon cast back the darkness, while the red moon dripped with blood.  When they reached their zenith, the mage threw out his arms and ripped the ground beneath his feet wide open.

 

Despite the mire above, the burial chamber was dry.  The floor and walls were littered with bones, dappled in the moons’ light.  A sarcophagus, carved from the mountain rock, decorated the center of the otherwise empty chamber.

As he studied the effigies of the ancient king’s life, he felt a tremor in the earth against the soles of his feet.  A lesser mage would have missed it; he turned to find the dry earth rising from the chamber floor, taking a semblance of form.

The mass of Earth stared down at him, or so it seemed, through a human skull still lodged in its malformed lump of a head.  When it spoke, its voice echoed from the chamber itself, dry as autumn leaves.

“I know not what you seek, human,” skeletons began to rise, some still wielding rusted weapons of the king’s guard, some farming tools, still others bare-handed, “But it is your death you have found.”

Surrounded, the mage merely blinked.  “I think not.”

The earthen king laughed like rocks skittering to the ground.  “I care not what you think.”

Unyielding, the mage spoke an incantation.  Light swept from his outstretched hand, pouring over the dead.  In a clatter of bone, they fell inanimate.  Before he had finished speaking, the mound of earth rumbled towards him, and he moved, swiftly, to put the sarcophagus between them.  The dry earth fell into an inanimate heap, only for the earthen king to reappear behind him.  A swing of the mage’s staff cut through the arm lunging for his head, reducing it to lifeless dirt that scattered over him; the king laughed again, and touched the earth, which formed the limb anew.

More alarming, the ground grasped at the mage’s feet.  At this, he retreated again, standing upon the cold stone, feeling the carven effigy between his toes.  Glancing down at the long forgotten face of a dead man, he cocked his head, then smiled.  Raising his hands, he spoke a quick Word, and the massive body of earth was lifted from a rumbling charge to float, harmless, above his head.

He spoke a second Word, and _crushed_.

Scrambling out from underneath, he dropped the stunned beast upon the rock.  Before it could recover, he drew the dagger from his belt and cut deep into the dirt with blade and fingers, until he found what he sought.  The leathery heart glowed with life, but the earth that had housed it lost its shape, and spilled upon the ground.

The mage, whose name had been stricken from him, raised the still-beating heart to his lips.  Giving thanks to the Earth, he devoured the thing, taking pleasure as it burned down his throat.

***

“Hello.”

Anya startled, groping for the lantern.  The voice was haunting familiar, but only when the light struck the man’s face did she recognize the stranger who had passed through days ago, asking about the mountain of the dead.  Only the grip of fear prevented her from dropping her lantern at the sight.

Ignoring her reaction, he merely smiled a bloodstained grin.  “I’m hungry.”

**Author's Note:**

> So... yeah. I've got weird ideas about Fiends. I hope you enjoyed it, though, even if it's a bit of a leap in logic. :)


End file.
